Professor Shonku : an Immortal Characterization by Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray was a very versatile creator. When we talk about his films, on one side he had created ''Pother Panchali", "Oporajito", "Poroshpathor", "Seemaboddho", "Gonoshotru", "Jana Aranya",  but on the completely opposite genre, he had also created "Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen", "Hirok Rajar Deshe", "Gupi Bagha Fire Elo" like films. We can also find some of his documentaries like "Rabindranath Tagore", "Sikkim", "Sukumar Ray", "The Inner Eye" etc. Again if we talk about different fictions or novels, On one side he had created the private detective character "Feluda" (though he had made several films on Feluda like "Sonar Kella", "Joy Baba Felunath"), but on the other side he had also created some characters, who were from completely different genre like "Professor Shonku", "Bonkubabu" etc. On his 100th birthday, let us talk about one of his immortal character, "Professor Shonku", whom I find one of the most aggressive and groundbreaking characterization of Satyajit Ray, on that time. We can find this character first on 1965, in a series of books published, with name of "Bengali Science Fiction".

'Professor Shonku'-portrait by Satyajit Ray

  Professor Shonku was a scientist. Moreover a scientist, he was an inventor. From the character description, we can not find anything attractive or serious. He was about 4 feet 9 inch tall, almost bald (there were some hairs backside of his head), a thick glass spectacle on his eyes, and a professor like personality on his attitude. But his main proficiency was knowledge. He was a linguist, he knew about 69 different languages. Over the different stories and novels, we see Shonku had over 50 inventions, and the things that were invented by him were just beyond the imagination of men, not just men of that time, some of them, men can not imagine in present too. He had a severe affection to the animals. He had a pet cat named Newton, who was very fond to him. His home was situated in Giridih, which is now in Jharkhand state of India. The number of members of the house was only three : Shonku, his pet cat Newton, and his servant Prolhad. Shonku believed Prolhad a lot. There was an another character who was the neighbour of Shonku. His name is Abinash Majumdar. He was just the oppsite person of Professor Shonku. He was a completely non-scientific friend of Shonku who never understood the magnitude of Shonku's scientific breakthroughs and often found them humiliating, amusing or insignificant.

Jeremy Saunders & Wilhelm Krol- Satyajit Ray

  Over the different novels, we can find some of his friends who were of his genre. Three of those characters are repetitive over different stories and novels. One is Jeremy Saunders, who was a British geologist. In "Shornoporni" novel, we also find that he was residing in London. Next is Wilhelm Krol, who was a German Anthropologist, and very fond of culturing of paranormality. In "Shonkur Porolokchorcha" story, we find that he was a president of a paranormal society in Germany. from "Ekshringo Obhijan" novel, it can also be seen that Krol had a little bit problem of unmindfulness. And last but not the least, John Summerville, who was a British scientist. He saved Shonku when he was facing his extreme danger, caused by another scientist named Gropius ("Shonkur Shonir Dosha"). There was another character who came in three stories ("Nokurbabu o El-Dorado , "Professor Rondir Time Machine" & "Professor Shonku o U.F.O"). His name was Nakur Chandra Biswas. He lived in Makarda. Once he had a ball lighting incident, and after that he acquired a special and super-natural power of predicting the future.
  Over the stories and novels, the main theme is surrounded by Shonku's versatile inventions, and we notice that in some stories, there are one invention, that is used, along with some other that were previously invented by him. As for example, in "Ekshringo Obhijan" novel, Shonku didn't invented anything, but used some of his previously invented items like 'Annihillin' [A pistol that had a power of vanishing living things without a blood-shed, but not applicable on non-living things ("Shonkur Congo Obhijan")] and 'Miracurall' (A drug that cures any ailment. It is a short form of Miracle Cure for All Ailments, though it is not applicable in common cold). We can find the full 'Miracurall' invention history in the "Shornoporni" novel, where we find that how it helped an Jewish family from Nazi. Some other inventions of Shonku were :

Bidhusekhar- Satyajit Ray

• Shankoplane – A small hovercraft created using anti-gravity technology, capable of vertical take-off and landing and magnificent mileage.
• Shankovite – The anti-gravity alloy by which Shankoplane was made.
• Shankoplast – Wonderful plastic.
• Omniscope  – A combination of telescope, microscope and X-ray-scope which looks like and can be worn as spectacles.
• Air-conditioning pill – A capsule to be kept in shirt pocket, that keeps the body temperature normal in extremes of climate.
• Somnolin – A sleeping pill that will work in any condition.
• Evolutin – A drug that makes people evolve 10 thousand years in 5 minutes.
• Compudium – Short for Computerized Medium, a device to contact departed souls.
• Remembrane – A device that makes people remember the things they forgot.
• Bidhusekhar – A mechanical man(robot) with AI built with very cheap materials, programmed to answer any question asked to it.
• Linguagraph – A device that translates any earth language to any other. The translation capability is supposed to include animal languages, and works on cats, plants, ants and even viruses too. However, it does not work to translate speech of aliens.
• Intellectron – A device to measure intelligence.
• Ornithon – A device to educate birds. He was able to "educate" a crow named Corvus using this device.
• Snuff Gun – A gun that causes snuffing for thirty three hours.
• Pill for Nightmare – Causes sleep and makes the taker have terrible nightmares.
• Fishpill – Space food for cats.
• Batika Indica – A pill made from sap of Banyan tree to ward off need of food and water for 24 hours.
• Special Room Fresher – A room fresher made up of 36 different flower essence.
• Mangorange – A hybrid tree with characteristics of both mango and orange.Bengali name, 'Amla'(Aam + kamla).

  

  "Byomjatrir Diary"- Satyajit Ray

• Invisibility Drug – A special drug to make living things invisible for at least 5 hours.

 and many more.
   Now let me come to the point that why do I find this character so much interesting.  First of all, though it was created for the children, but this character has a special ability to attract persons of every age and every type. This creation of Satyajit Ray makes us understand his power and ability of imagination. On 60's, he had travelled with not only different planets of this solar planet, but on the others(Andromeda), and meet with their people. Even on the story "Don Christobaldir Bhobishyotbani", we find that Shonku helps the people of another planet with Miracurall, when they were started suffering from Malaria. Satyajit  tried to cut different superstitious concepts. With this character he tried to implant scientific conceptions to grow interests in science in the children mind. This creation is so much groundbreaking, that when we read it, even in 21st century, we can not think it unorthodox or old. It creates dream of making science more stronger, and for only the welfare of people. Here is the success of this character, and that is why, like other characters, it is also an immortal creation of Satyajit Ray.

Check out this beautiful article on Satyajit Ray's top 10 movies that you should not miss!


Reference of Shonku's inventions : Wikipedia
Picture reference : "Shonku Somogro"-Satyajit Ray (Published by Ananda Publishers)